Shoe-lace fastening.



I PATENTBD JUNE 9, 1908.

0. M. BOWMAN. SHOE LACE FASTENING.

APPLICATION rmm An. 22. 1901.

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CHARLES M. BOWMAN, OF LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOE-LACE FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1908.

Application filed April 22, 1907. Serial No. 369,542.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. BOWMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lebanon, in the county of Lebanon and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe- Lace Fastenings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will'enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in shoe lace fasteners, its object being to provide fasteners of this character, of novel construction, which may be employed for securing the ends of the shoe lace after the same has been laced and avoid the necessity of tying the ends of the lace, and it consists in the construction and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of the upper of a shoe, provided with my lace fastening devices; Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of one of my improved lace fasteners; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of same; Fig. 4: is a.

transverse sectional view of the same; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the same.

My improved lace fastener is made from a single piece of sheet spring metal, such as steel or brass. The body 1 of the fastener may be of any suitable form and is here shown of oblong form with rounded ends. A spring tongue 2 is struck up from the body plate and divided therefrom on its two long sides and at its free end, the inner end of the spring tongue merging into the plate. It will be understood that in striking up the tongue and dividing the same, an opening 8 is formed in the body plate. In opposite ends of the body plate are openings 4 to receive suitable fastening rivets 5, or other devices, by means of which the body plate may be secured to the shoe upper these rivets being preferably provided with heads 5. The spring tongue 2 has its free end turned outwardly .at a slight angle to the body plate to facilitate the placing of an end of the shoe lacing under the tongue between it and the body plate, so that the pressure of the spring on the shoe lace will hold the end of the latter securely and yet enable it to be readily detached. The spring tongue is disposed longitudinally of the body plate and the latter extends beyond both ends and both sides of the spring tongue, the opening 3 formed in the body plate by the cutting and striking up of the tongue being closed at its outer end by the outer end of the body plate and at its inner end by the inner end of the tongue. x

The tongue 20 is of compound curvature throughout its length, presenting aninwardly bent portion disposed immediately in rear of its outwardly deflected terminal and an outwardly bent portion in rear of the inwardly bent portion, said outwardly bent portion forming a lace-receiving space, and the inwardly bent portion being adapted to norin ally seat in the slot 3 within the plane of the body plate for holding the lace within said space.

In practice, a pair of my improved shoe lace fasteners will be employed on each shoe,

secured near the upper edge and near the upper corners of the flaps thereof, as shown, and

placed in horizontal position slightly to the rear of the upper eyelets or hooks of the shoe. The shoe lace, after being secured by the tongue, may also be passed over the upper edge of the shoe and through one or both of the openings in the plate and then tucked inside the shoe. Owing to the provision of the heads 5 upon the rivets, the lace may, should the operator elect, be passed around the rivets beneath the heads and tied in the ordinary manner, or the surplus length of lace may be taken up by passing the same around the headed rivets prior to engaging the ends of the lace with the fastener.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

In combination with a shoe having lacing eyelets extending in parallel rows on either side of the upper, a shoe fastener comprising a plate secured to the upper diagonally to the parallel rows of eyelets and having a wedge-shaped tongue struck from the body thereof, to form in the plate a longitudinal slot, said tongue having an upwardly deflected free terminal portion and being of compound curvature throughout its length to form in the rear of said tongue an inwardly bent portion adapted to seat in the slot within the plane of the body portion and having in the rear of said inwardly bent portion an outwardly bent portion forming a lace receiving space, and rivets at either end of the body for attaching the plate to the shoe, said rivets being projected beyond the my hand in presence of two subscribing Witface of the plate and provided at their outer nesses. ends with heads, and said lace receiving space being arranged at right angles to the CHARLES BOWMAN 5 body so as to receive the lace from the upper YVitnesses:

eyelet from the opposite side of the upper. HARRY RIssER,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set THOs. J. SHAAK. 

